Ex-Chelsea midfielder recalls 2012 final v Corinthians, Japan takeover | OneFootball

Former attacking midfielder Oscar, who officially retired from football in April this year due to health issues, was on the field for Chelsea of England in the Club World Cup final in December 2012 against Corinthians at Yokohama Stadium in Japan. In an interview with Charla Podcast, he highlighted the quality of that Corinthians team, coached by Tite, and praised the massive presence of the Fiel Torcida in that match — from 30,000 to 40,000 Corinthians fans.

“They (the Europeans/Chelsea) knew Corinthians had a very good team, a tough, well-drilled side that was annoying to play against. It was cool because the Corinthians fans packed the place. Maybe that impressed us a little. We didn’t expect so many Corinthians fans there in Japan. I remember it was packed. They didn’t stop for a single minute. It was a really great match,” he began.

Photo: Daniel Augusto Jr/Agência Corinthians

That year, Corinthians conquered the world by beating the London side in the final with a goal from Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero. In that match, Alvinegro also had a spectacular performance from goalkeeper Cássio, who made several decisive saves. In the semifinal, it is worth remembering, against Egypt’s Al-Ahly, Timão won by the same scoreline, also with a goal from the No. 9. The Blues, meanwhile, reached the final by beating Mexico’s Monterrey 3-1.

Oscar said that, at the time, Europeans in general did not place as much importance on the Club World Cup as South American teams did, especially the Brazilian ones: “They don’t pay that much attention to it (Europeans at the Club World Cup)... they don’t really care until the match arrives. But since we had so many matches, I was the player who had played the most. (Rafa) Benítez (Chelsea’s coach at the time) asked me to rest (for the final); I had played in the semifinal and was one of the best players on the pitch.”

“I never liked not playing, being on the bench. He asked me to rest because we had a match against Liverpool. I said, ‘Mister, it’s against Corinthians, it’s the Club World Cup, you have to play all the Brazilians. Don’t take me out of the match.’ He took me out, and I was furious, I wanted to play. But the team he put out played really well. Cássio saved everything, and in the match itself we had lots of chances. It wasn’t a match we were supposed to lose. Corinthians would have suffered much more than we would have (if they had lost). We Brazilians (David Luiz, Ramires and Oscar) suffered like crazy, we really wanted to win. But the English themselves didn’t give it as much importance as they should have,” he concluded.

Throughout his career, Oscar played for São Paulo (twice), Internacional, Chelsea of England, Shanghai SIPG and Shanghai Port, both from China. In addition, he was repeatedly called up to the Brazilian national team, where he was an Olympic silver medalist in 2012, won the 2013 Confederations Cup, and played in the 2014 World Cup for the Seleção.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.